Pronouns, Plantations, and more Pysanky!

Handwriting-  We worked on the letters "s" and "t" today.  I have explained in class that cursive is one part writing and one part art.  There is some variation in styles!  The uppercase letter T is an example of this.  I explained that if parents have taught them a different way than in the book, just go with what they know!  When we learned how to make an uppercase S, the students decided that it looked just like an uppercase G, but without the "horn"!  I think the agriculture lessons must be sticking, because they said that the G would be the buck and the S would be the doe.  Hey, if agriculture can help the kids remember how to make correct cursive G and S, then so be it!

After reviewing yesterday's video lesson on how to diagram questions, we reviewed the pronoun list in grammar today.  They reviewed subject pronouns, object pronouns, and demonstrative pronouns.  They then learned a new type of pronoun: interrogative pronouns.  These pronouns (who, whom, which, and what) can replace a noun in a question.  Because you need to rearrange the words in a question to form a statement before diagramming, this can get a bit confusing.  In the sentence, "Whom did you visit?", you would diagram it as You did visit whom.  Whom is taking the place of the name of the person that is being visited, so it is taking the role of the direct object.  In the sentence, "Who is winning?", the word "who" is simply taking the place of the name of the person in the subject.  This is why I have been trying to teach the class to always diagram the verb FIRST, then ask yourself who or what is doing the verb to find the subject.  The words do not always fall in a certain order!  If any student needs extra help with any lesson, I have an extra copy of the instructor's guide that parents can borrow between classes.  Just let me know!

The 4A math class worked more on word problems involving fractions.  They have been working on these at home.  Today was a chance to continue the practice, as well as get individual help from Ms. Jennifer.  They covered material from pages 104-105 in the textbook, as well as pages 105-109 in the workbook.  The 3A class worked more on division today.  Their material was from the extra practice book, pages 61-64.  Both math classes continued their multiplication challenge!  They now have race cars, complete with little faces, and are working their ways around the track!

Writing-  In writing class today, Ms. Bev helped the class to understand the difference between independent facts and supporting details for those facts.  They used a worksheet to help them step through the process.  It all seemed to click!  Although the initial Abe Lincoln research assignment was too broad, it served as a tool to teach the class how to narrow down facts and develop a theme for a single paragraph.  Ms. Bev explained the difference between a multi-paragraph essay and a single informative paragraph.  Although it was a bit hard to switch gears in writing class, I saw it really come together today!  The class will continue to knock out an excellent Abe Lincoln paragraph, complete with thesis, facts, supporting details, and conclusion.  They will finish this on Thursday and start fresh after Thanksgiving break!

Spanish-  The class moved from grammar with Ms. Holly to Spanish grammar with Ms. Rose!  They worked on their feminine and masculine articles.  They also went through the vocabulary that they have been working on at home.  Ms. Rose helped them to piece things together... and they were even able to translate a phrase on the board!  By listening to Ms. Rose speak and learning the concepts in class, they have come a long way in a short period of time!

Social Studies-  What gets kids excited about learning?  TRAINS!  These kids were on fire with information that they soaked up through their at home reading and videos.  They have been studying the westward expansion.  The class worked in small groups on a comprehension exercise.  From across the room I actually overheard one of them say, "I found the answer to that one!"  "That's okay, I want to find it myself."  Excellent!

Although it wasn't agriculture day today, the class took a walk over during lunch to see the new buck that we brought home yesterday.  His name is Omega, and he is an eight month old registered Saanen.  We will be breeding our does to him in hopes for some babies in April!  Although the lack of fall kids was a disappointment, it led to some very interesting lessons!  You can't teach using farm animals without being flexible with your lessons!

The class also checked on our broody hen.  We were able to see that a splash maran was laying her eggs in the same nesting box as the broody black maran!  Each day, I remove her eggs from the nest.  The ones that remain have been dated, so I can tell which ones are our original eggs!

In art class, the kids learned to use the Ukrainian tool, the kistka.  They each had their own kistkas, which they heated over a small candle.  Once the kistkas were hot, they used them to scoop up small amounts of beeswax, which melted easily when touched by the hot copper funnel.  It took an entire day's class to practice writing with this tool!  They learned how to hold it, write with it, and learned a technique where they will be able to place a small amount of dye within a small, wax-bordered shape.  This allows for more variation in color choices.  As a class, we went over each students' design for their egg.  The color choices were discussed.  Some of the students had nailed the concept of color progression through the dyes.  A few had to make some changes.  For instance, it isn't possible to go from dark pink to green, without ending up with a muddled mess!  By the end of class, all of the colors and designs were finalized and the children were comfortable heating, filling, and writing with the kistkas.  They can't wait to work on their eggs, which will be turned into Christmas ornaments!